|| das klienicum ||"wer hier regelmäßig mitliest, wird sich an series two records erinnern und seine letzte offerte mit gleich vier veröffentlichungen am stück. mit desmond reed hatten wir uns hier beschäftigt. seinen labelkollegen anthony rochester gilt es heute etwas näher zu beleuchten. während ich mich vor einigen tagen hausputzangelegenheiten widmete, hatte ich "music for in the spaceship" im rekorder. um einen ersten eindruck zu erhalten. doch wie das so mit dem nebenbei hören ist, entweder man bekommt gar nichts mit oder aber es erfordert mehr aufmerksamkeit, als man der hauptbeschäftigung abtrutzen wollte. so war es denn auch. immer wieder musste ich die lautstärke anpassen, diesen oder jenen titel noch einmal hören, um das halbgar aufgenommene bestätigt zu wissen. mit dem schrubben kam ich gar nicht mehr hinterher und ließ halbfertiges zurück. der titel des albums klingt verheißungsvoll. das einzig abgehobene und kosmische an "music for in the spaceship" jedoch sind synthiesounds und eine an manchen stellen entrückte, leicht verhallte stimme rochesters. zuvorderst steht aber ein instrumental dichtes, weit ab von lofi ausgearbeitetes album. anthony beschäftigt sich seit 1999 mit dem musikalischen auswurf von maschinen und dem erlernen diverser instrumente. da ihm - wie heißt es so schön? - die social skills fehlten, um eine band zu gründen, spielte er sein werke komplett selbst ein. herauskommen kleinode musikalischer provinzgenialität. kleine popleuchtwürmer, die dunkle räume erhellen und, wenn man genauer hinschaut, leuchtende linien zaubern, an die man sich dranhängen kann, um im rhythmus zu schaukeln. auf den zwölf tracks des aktuellen werks findet sich also mitschunkelbares, humoristisches und balladeskes. rochester ist wandlungsfähig, changiert zwischen den stilen (soul, reggae, launch, bossa nova, chanson und immer POP), stimmungen und tempi. nur seine tonlage ändert er nicht. ein leichter melancholischer hauch zieht sich über die gesamte produktion. wie eine warme zudecke. mit "lipscombe larder" und "mathematics" kann der geneigte leser zwei der hits des albums nachhören. die wunderschöne melodie von "lipscombe larder", die zum verzweifeln schöne orgel und die konternden flöten, die das thema umgarnen, dazu rochesters nonchalante stimme. herrlich! das dritte album des australiers, der seine größte fangemeinde wohl aber in den usa und norwegen hat. so geht dann auch die legende, dass er bewohner des kalten europäischen nordlandes wäre und als bibliothekar arbeiten würde. stimmt beides nicht, trägt aber zum geheimstatus erheblich bei. das album gab es in 2007 bereits als prerelease. nun aber ist es offiziell, auf series two records, handnummeriert, natürlich limitiert. es lohnt!"

|| IndiePages ||"I'd heard of Anthony Rochester before, but hadn't actually heard his music until a fine song of his ("Friend, Request Manager") jumped out at me from a Series Two compilation earlier this year. And then recently, I received this album from the same label, and was delighted to find out that the excellent song I heard from him before was no fluke! His music is a mixture of Jens Lekman-style crooning mixed with a Burt Bacharach-like laidback attitude and a good knowledge of vintage electronics. The songs run a fairly wide range from simple jangly numbers, like "Did You Lose Weight?" and "Mathematics" (the latter of which kinda reminds me of Eggstone), to the elegant Lightning Seeds-ish '80s pop of "Just Sigh And Move On" and from the quiet '60s movie soundtrack-worthy "Rain" to the '70s lounge/smooth funk feel running through "Lipscombe Larder" and "The Zoologists' Star". I didn't find every song interesting, but the ones that I did like, I really liked! But I definitely can't fault him for his diversity... MTQ=9/12"

|| Fensepost ||"Listening to Music For In The Spaceship, one is tempted to label Anthony Rochester (MySpace) as a standard folk-pop artist. The melodies are simple and clean and slightly contemporary. Music For In The Spaceship is extremely accessible. Rochester’s release was included in the latest batch of albums from Series Two Records, the Nebraska-based CD-R label that put out an impressive number of albums in ‘08. As the album continues, the contemporary elements initially heard in “I Love You Baby” give way slightly in “Have You Lost Weight?” to a more old-time-y sound. It’s in the vocals tinted with an accent, the bass-lines and the pointed guitar riffs. I guess an adequate comparison would be mix between Math And Physics Club and Little Name. The music is still highly accessible, though. There are lounge-y elements throughout Rochester’s music, like how the guitar and bass-line work together with the keyboards and chimes in songs like “Rain”, or the consistent guitar shuffle and harmony backing vocals on “Just Sigh And Move On”. All these elements lead, I guess, to one item — its’ a defining item, a classifying one. Anthony Rochester’s Music For In The Spaceship can be labeled as contemporary indie lounge pop. And, as far as I can tell, that’s a new sub-genre, meaning Rochester is breaking new ground despite an older sound. "

|| WLUR 91.5 FM Virginia ||"The music of Anthony Rochester is spacey pop ranging from soft almost-disco on “Zoologist’s Star” to Latinesque “Did You Lose Weight?” Music for in the Spaceship does in fact sound a little like outer space, but the earnest, real-world words ground the flightly melodies: “I put my trousers on / and then give you a call / I love you baby” (from I Love You Baby). Longwinded titles in the style of Panic! at the Disco (but not half as pretentious, of course) add a pop of humor to a seriously good album. Songs about Australian aliens (on "Interplanetary Relationships can be Problematic at the Best of Times") aren’t just funny, they’re also very good. The sound is groovy, but doesn’t seem dated, and sounds a little like Labrador Record’s Airliner. I would certainly enjoy listening to the album again, especially if I were on a spaceship. "

|| It's Not The Bands I Hate, It's Their Fans! ||"Upon first listening to Anthony Rochester's Music For In The Spaceship album, it's very easy to understand how one might think that he comes from Sweden, where he would share the lyrical whimsy of Jens Lekman. Perhaps you could be forgiven for thinking that he hails from Norway, where he would be influenced by the vocal subtlety of Erlend Øye. And the true music aficionado would be justified in assuming that he must comes from Glasgow, since his gift of melody was obviously taught at the school of Belle and Sebastian. However, the truth of the matter is that Hobart, Australia is where Rochester lays his hat, and although all of the aforementioned references are a good starting point and all, Music For In The Spaceship is an excellent album that truly stands on its own in terms of originality and heartfelt ebullience. Anthony self records and plays most of the instruments himself, and his vocals showcase a vulnerability that adds to his immediate charm. With song titles like Did You Lose Weight?, If Only She'd Mind Read He Won't Have To Tell Her By Himself, and Interplanetary Relationships Can Be Problematic At The Best Of Times, it becomes apparent that Rochester is very witty and refuses to take himself too seriously. The songs are all very soothing, easy to absorb and instantly likable. She Visits Her Friends On The Moon has a 60's Casio French Pop feel to it (although it's sung in English) and Gigi is laugh out loud funny with it's cheesy lounge style keyboard work, and funky blaxploitation bass line. The album closes with It's A Secret But I Want To Sing About The Girl That I Love which is a beautiful song that seems to fit nicely into the Beautiful South songbook, only without all of the veiled sinisterism. In fact, there isn't anything veiled when it comes to the music of Anthony Rochester. What you see (or hear) is what you get and Music For in The Spaceship is pure pop music for pure pop people."

|| What to Wear During An Orange Alert? ||"I am positive that Anthony is the first musician from Tasmania that I have ever mentioned. His lazy vocals and fresh sounds are almost enough to get the image of the Tazmanian Devil out of your mind."

|| Rawkblog ||"There's something about that accent. The dryness of it, the somber quality -- English wit squeezed free of its little moisture. Yes, by some feat of culture or isolation, Australian singer-songwriters have managed to become the world's current finest purveyors of sad pop songs. Sweden may loom larger on indie-pop maps these days, but those songs have less gravity, ballooning upward with helium melodies. The male human heart weighs an average 10.5 ounces, and all of that heaviness is felt in the music of Aussies including Guy Blackman, Ned Collette and Anthony Rochester, whose "I Love You" is less a declaration than an embarrassed admission. The video is a similar exercise in gallows humor, splitting the one-man-band into a checkerboard of identically gloomy musicians. It's very Jon Brion meets The Brady Bunch, if they were to find themselves inverted. I hear the toilets Down Under flush backwards, too. It must be something in the water."

|| My Life Is A Stereo ||"I try not to do comparisons much, but singer Anthony Rochester's witty mellow pop rock really reminds me of Kings of Convenience. It really does. Which is good, because that new record the Kings were rumored to be working on, seems to not have been worked on so much. So, Anthony, it's nice to have you around"

|| The Sound Of Indie ||"The hardest working label in show-business, Series Two Records, has just released another great record. This time it’s from Anthony Rochester of Australia. His songs have a bit of a lounge feel to them, which I always love, but they also sound directly inspired from contemporary brit-pop like Belle & Sebastian."

|| Fazer Magazine ||"Music For In The Spaceship, is a genre crossing album, influenced by everyone from Blur, Belle and Sebastian, Morrissey, and Pulp. Dealing with subjects ranging from interplanetary relationships between Australians and aliens (’Interplanetary Relationships Can be Problematic at the Best of Times’) and commercialism (’Lipscombe Larder’), Anthony Rochester has pulled of a mind-blowing concept album that is quite hard to explain in both concept and sound."

|| You Are So Relevant ||"Kings of Convenience + Isaac Newton = Anthony Rochester"

|| das klienicum (in German) ||"wer hier regelmäßig mitliest, wird sich an series two records erinnern und seine letzte offerte mit gleich vier veröffentlichungen am stück. mit desmond reed hatten wir uns hier beschäftigt. seinen labelkollegen anthony rochester gilt es heute etwas näher zu beleuchten. während ich mich vor einigen tagen hausputzangelegenheiten widmete, hatte ich "music for in the spaceship" im rekorder. um einen ersten eindruck zu erhalten. doch wie das so mit dem nebenbei hören ist, entweder man bekommt gar nichts mit oder aber es erfordert mehr aufmerksamkeit, als man der hauptbeschäftigung abtrutzen wollte. so war es denn auch. immer wieder musste ich die lautstärke anpassen, diesen oder jenen titel noch einmal hören, um das halbgar aufgenommene bestätigt zu wissen. mit dem schrubben kam ich gar nicht mehr hinterher und ließ halbfertiges zurück. der titel des albums klingt verheißungsvoll. das einzig abgehobene und kosmische an "music for in the spaceship" jedoch sind synthiesounds und eine an manchen stellen entrückte, leicht verhallte stimme rochesters. zuvorderst steht aber ein instrumental dichtes, weit ab von lofi ausgearbeitetes album. anthony beschäftigt sich seit 1999 mit dem musikalischen auswurf von maschinen und dem erlernen diverser instrumente. da ihm - wie heißt es so schön? - die social skills fehlten, um eine band zu gründen, spielte er sein werke komplett selbst ein. herauskommen kleinode musikalischer provinzgenialität. kleine popleuchtwürmer, die dunkle räume erhellen und, wenn man genauer hinschaut, leuchtende linien zaubern, an die man sich dranhängen kann, um im rhythmus zu schaukeln. auf den zwölf tracks des aktuellen werks findet sich also mitschunkelbares, humoristisches und balladeskes. rochester ist wandlungsfähig, changiert zwischen den stilen (soul, reggae, launch, bossa nova, chanson und immer POP), stimmungen und tempi. nur seine tonlage ändert er nicht. ein leichter melancholischer hauch zieht sich über die gesamte produktion. wie eine warme zudecke. mit "lipscombe larder" und "mathematics" kann der geneigte leser zwei der hits des albums nachhören. die wunderschöne melodie von "lipscombe larder", die zum verzweifeln schöne orgel und die konternden flöten, die das thema umgarnen, dazu rochesters nonchalante stimme. herrlich! das dritte album des australiers, der seine größte fangemeinde wohl aber in den usa und norwegen hat. so geht dann auch die legende, dass er bewohner des kalten europäischen nordlandes wäre und als bibliothekar arbeiten würde. stimmt beides nicht, trägt aber zum geheimstatus erheblich bei. das album gab es in 2007 bereits als prerelease. nun aber ist es offiziell, auf series two records, handnummeriert, natürlich limitiert. es lohnt!"

|| Bluesbunny Reviews ||"Music - it's a worldwide thing. Name a genre and you'll find bands on any and every continent in this planet. Probably on a passing spaceship too. Anthony Rochester doesn't have a spaceship - or at least I don't think he does anyway - but he does have an album called "Music For In The Spaceship". First things first, this is not prog rock, thankfully. Mention a spaceship and I immediately think of prog rock. This album is actually an example of Australian indie pop. Indie pop of the mellowest sort too. Mellow in a good way though as it is actually quite groovy. Groovy because it actually has a retro feel to it that takes it further back in time than Belle & Sebastian. As would be expected of indie pop, the lyrics reflect life's trivialities in a very literal fashion. I suppose that is part of this album's charm. It never really seems to try very hard to get your attention but there is plenty of - positively unfashionable these days - melody in evidence. On the downside, the placid, laidback approach to vocals that Anthony Rochester uses (or rather overuses) does tend to irritate over the length of the album. If I had to pick a favourite song, then it would be hard to deny the melancholic appeal of "If Only She'd Mind Read He'd Won't Have To Tell Her By Himself"."